Cross Platform Analysis of Converse: Instagram vs Facebook

Let's start this party with an awesome video. Why not, right?

Night time. Somewhere in London. A robot awakes..." #ChuckTaylor #ChuckHack made by Michelangelo the Robot.
Posted by Converse on Saturday, May 16, 2015

Why did I show this video? One, it's awesome. And two, because, Ladies & Gentlemen, today we are not just talking about Converse's Instagram platform, but we are taking a different route and discussing Facebook today as well. Are they different? Are they the same? What kind of audience do they have? Is one better than the other? These are some of the questions we need to ask ourselves when it comes to analyzing across platforms.

So...let's get started. 

Instagram

We've discussed Instagram in my past few blog posts, about what kind of audience Converse has, how they brand their company to the visual, artsy, unique people of Instagram who follow Converse, and love Converse as both a pair of shoes, and a way of life.

Feel free to look back on the other posts to get a little bit more background about Instagram & Converse, but let's take a quick look at some more Instagram posts from Converse.

Where are your shoes taking you?

How cool is this?

Clip of above video

Left: This post showcases one of Converse's followers. It also explains a little bit about what Converse shoes can do for you, but not in an overt way that seems too marketing. It focuses more on the lifestyle of the consumer--the creative, the edgy, the wide range of possibilities you can have when you wear Converse.

Center: Since Instagram is a vastly visual platform, a photo such as this is a perfect showcase of the product. Previous blog posts focused on how brands should show what you can do with their product, but that doesn't always have to be straightforward or useful. Converse = ART.

Right: The last post is actual a shorter clip of the above Facebook video. It's effective that they show the clip of the video and give credit to the follower who made it, but Instagram doesn't have the capability of showing longer videos, nor does it give a link to the video. This is where Facebook comes into play. 

Facebook

To start off with, it is important to understand the ways to use Facebook if you're a brand, like Converse. Research suggests that the first and foremost thing you have to do, on any platform but especially Facebook, is to show content that your audience wants to see, and subsequently share.

So for Converse, is there audience the same on Facebook as it is on Instagram? I believe so. I haven't done as much research into this, but based on the posts that they have used, it suggests that their followers are still like the followers of Instagram: younger, love Converse & adventure, music lovers, unique, and creative people. With their audience being the same, the posts that a brand uses needs to be "aligned with the passions of the people you want to reach and the value proposition of your brand" (Playbuzz). You can't just have a post that is completely random with no relevancy to your product or your followers.

Now, this isn't to say that you always have to post about your product directly. Research shows that "the foundation is your content, but the critical piece is building trust and relationships" (Social Media Today). Converse's Facebook page does a good job of keeping this in mind.

Converse Upcoming Events

Facebook allows Converse to be able to communicate more directly with their followers, and it allows them to post about upcoming events and invite people to those events. Instagram doesn't allow you to do this, or it's incredibly difficult and not effective if you do so.

In addition, Converse seems to respond more directly to both their Facebook page & Twitter feed than they do to their Instagram, since their Instagram is more about posting pictures of their products or showcasing their follower's "Made by You" campaign or #Chuckhacks.

An example of how Converse was able to respond directly to their followers on Facebook is through the below post. A girl was showing support for her friend with Cancer by making a heart from Converse shoes with her friends, and Converse posted this photo on Facebook & Instagram. On Facebook, though, she commented back on the post explaining how much it meant to her. Looking further into this post, I saw that Converse was actually one of the people to like her comment. This isn't like a huge deal, but it's a lot easier to do this on Facebook since users can like/respond to other comments on posts.

 Shoe Heart & Comment

Converse liked her comment directly

In addition, I noticed that Facebook allowed Converse to ask more questions, to get more feedback, and to interact with their followers directly and quicker.

A few questions Converse asked

My favorite interactive question

Left: Converse asked questions a lot at the beginning of their Facebook page.  They invite their followers to share their opinions. Facebook is one of the few platforms that this works effectively on. It allows others to see what other fans post as well.

Center: This is one of my favorite of Converse's early interactive Facebook posts. Not only does it get followers talking, but it gets them talking about the product itself in a fun, nostalgic way. ThunderCats, am I right?

#ChuckHackers

A promotion of #ChuckHacks

In addition, Facebook allows Converse to allow users to connect to each other, through their community of #ChuckHacks and #ChuckHackers. They invite followers to join the community, to showcase how you "hack your chucks". It prioritizes individuality and creativity and it brings people together who love Converse and want to share that love. It's hard to do that on Instagram, because it is mainly just a visual site.

Another lifestyle post similar to Instagram

Converse's Facebook page still does a lot of what Converse's Instagram page does, though. Here is an example, to the right. It shows the consumer, it showcases the creativity, and it still shows what Converse is all about: adventure, being yourself, and doing what you love everyday. It shows a lifestyle, though I do believe Instagram is possibly more effective for that aspect.

One final thing I thought was an interesting difference between Converse's Instagram & Facebook pages. The below is a post on Converse's Facebook page, and it is in a foreign language. Facebook is effective in reaching audiences across the globe, especially because it also translates the post for you if you don't speak that language. I had never seen something like this on Converse's Instagram, but I may be wrong.

Facebook allows foreign language translations

Overall, Facebook isn't better than Instagram. Neither is Instagram better than Facebook. They do have some things in common; they strive to have the same audience and message, which they communicate effectively. But sometimes the tactics used to communicate that message are different. Facebook allows for upcoming events, longer videos, and links to other platforms or websites. Instagram is widely used for lifestyle posts, showcasing the followers & users of Converse, and is largely a visual platform.

It all just depends on which platform you want to use for your brand. Using a few different platforms, but having a unifying message/theme/layout helps readers to connect with your brand in a variety of different ways. Converse does this effectively, using Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook & Google+